Not done yet? Benshoof, Martin among those on USA Luge’s fall racing roster

Benshoof, Martin on USA Luge fall roster

Tony Benshoof and Brian Martin are on USA Luge’s national team for the fall, the surest sign yet neither is ready to retire.

Benshoof is on the list for the 22nd straight year, and Martin remains on the doubles roster even though longtime partner Mark Grimmette has retired to become USA Luge’s sports program director. Former women’s world champion Erin Hamlin leads a team of five on the women’s side.

“I don’t want to be this has-been guy who goes down the hill because I can and finishes 12th or 15th,” said Benshoof, a three-time Olympian. “I don’t want to be that guy. At the end of the day, I love the sport and I love being an athlete. I’m trying to do it again. So we’ll see.”

Benshoof — who was eighth in the Vancouver Games— has dealt with back woes for years, and had another operation to repair ruptured and torn disks about six weeks ago by Dr. Robert Bray Jr.

Benshoof is scheduled to see Bray again in the next couple of weeks. He hopes this operation did the trick.

“The truth is, before Whistler, I just assumed that my back would never be back, it would just never come back where it needs to be,” Benshoof said.

Chris Mazdzer and Bengt Walden, Benshoof’s men’s teammates in the 2010 Olympics, were also picked Monday, as were Trent Matheson, Robby Huerbin and Joe Mortensen. The women’s Vancouver Olympic trio of Hamlin, Megan Sweeney and Julia Clukey are all on the roster, as are former Olympians Ashley Walden and Courtney Zablocki, who was fourth at the Turin Games in 2006.

The lone roster shakeup comes in doubles.

Christian Niccum and Dan Joye, America’s top team last season, have amicably split. Niccum will team with Jayson Terdiman, while Joye is still seeking a new teammate. Matt Mortensen and Preston Griffall will team again, just as they did last season when they pushed Grimmette and Martin for the second U.S. doubles spot in Vancouver.

Martin’s future remains unclear. USA Luge is clearly in favor of the notion of Martin continuing to slide — he and Grimmette were Olympic medalists twice and placed in more international races than any doubles team in American history — but Martin still needs a teammate.

And those aren’t easy to find.

“We’re not real sure what’s going to happen with Brian and Dan Joye,” Grimmette said. “It was important for us to Brian on the list for ice time and things like that. Same thing with Dan Joye, too. Dan is interested in continuing, but we need to find what’s available.”